Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The Cerro Coso volleyball team was at home hosting Chaffey in an Inland Empire Athletic Conference matchup. The Coyotes played the Panthers tough and showed the talent that is on the roster but fell in four sets 25-20, 17-25, 23-25, 19-25. The Coyotes have two games remaining in the season, their road finale at Victor Valley on Friday and home finale against Copper Mountain on Wednesday. Both games begin at 5 p.m.
"I thought they played hard today. I think we played better than we had before. We are getting there," said Interim Coach Kim Young.
She continued that her players played well against the Panthers and gave their all on the court. Her players can hang their head high knowing they played well against a team with a mix of sophomores and freshmen, and they should be proud of their performance.
The first meeting between Chaffey and Cerro Coso ended in a four-set win for the Panthers on their own court with the Coyotes winning the second set and not scoring 20 points in the other three sets. On their own court, the Coyotes took an early lead in the first set and held on to win it. Cerro Coso came close to stealing the third set from the Panthers after trailing early, the Coyotes tied the set at 15-15. They traded points with the score at 21-21. The Coyotes took a 23-21 lead on a kill from Zoe Czaja and an ace from Imani Parker. But the Coyotes could not close out the set and fell 25-23.
With two games remaining, Young spoke on what she wants to see from her players to close out the season.
"To continue to work harder," she said. "Playing the game with relentless effort and playing together as a team. And having fun."
The first set saw the Coyotes win 25-20, taking advantage of the mistakes made by the Panthers and playing quick and aggressive. Reese Wakeman helped give the Coyotes an early 6-4 lead with her serve that began with an ace. The Panthers struggled to control her serve and would make an easy return to the home team, which they used to run their offense and get a good hit at the net. The Coyotes used the two-point cushion to build a lead at 22-16 that led to Chaffey timeout. The Coyotes then took a 24-17 lead on a kill from Maddie Meinert but the Panthers went on to score the next three points until a kill from Czaja gave the set to the home team.
The second set had the Coyotes hold onto the momentum to jump out to an early 6-3 lead, but the Panthers came back on serving errors from Cerro Coso. The Coyotes would tie the set at 11-11 but from there too many mistakes led to the Panthers building a 16-11 lead and a Cerro Coso timeout. After the timeout, Czaja scored on a kill but the visitors scored the next four points for a 20-12 lead. With Czaja serving, the Coyotes made a final push to get back into the set, and they scored four points with two kills from Meinert. But the visitors closed out the set with a five-point run.
The third set, began with Parker serving the Coyotes to a 4-1 lead with kills from Czaja and Wakeman who also got a block. Parker had an ace in the run, and after the side-out the Coyotes continued to build their lead to a 11-5 lead and a Chaffey timeout. The Coyotes were able to hold off the Panthers for a 15-12 lead after a Czaja kill. But Chaffey went on a run and tied the set at 19-19, and both teams battled to a 21-21 tie. The Coyotes retook the lead on a Czaja kill, went up by two points after an ace from Parker leading to a Panthers timeout. But leading 23-21, the Coyotes could not close out the set to take a 2-1 match lead instead the Panthers went on to score the final four points.
Chaffey used the momentum of stealing the third set to win the final set and take the match. The beginning saw both teams trade points but at 8-8 the Panthers scored the next two points. The Coyotes tried to get back into the set but could not and watched the visitors build a 15-10 lead and then a 20-15 lead. Czaja scored a late killer to cut the deficit to 24-18 and the Coyotes scored again but could not extend the run to force a fifth set.